Economists moderating their inflation forecasts

Inflationary pressures have been easing in recent months. The consumer price index rose by 6.5% in December vs. a year earlier. The annual rate has been steadily falling since peaking in June at 9.1%.

The seasonally adjusted monthly change fell by 0.1% in December. It rose by 0.4% in September and October before falling to 0.1% in November. This is well below June's 1.3% increase.

This year's expectation calls for 3.8% inflation, based on the consensus estimate among economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Their 2023 forecasts have been dropping over the past few months after the figure was 4.3% in November.

The current forecast compares with the 8% inflation rate in 2022.